Jump on a CommunityMatters® conference call for a 60-minute conversation about critical issues, tools and inspiring stories of community building.

This event is free but registration is required.

After a design or planning process, most communities end up with scores of potential actions. How do you prioritize dozens of competing options? How do you get some cool stuff done without breaking the bank or exhausting your list of volunteers? Easy: start with the petunias. That’s one key lesson from the “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” framework.

Join us and learn how to find the easiest, quickest and most impactful ways to start making things happen in your town. If you've used a Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper approach to get things done in your community, tell us about it when you register for the call.  We'll ask a few people to share their story on the line!

What is Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper?

Here’s how it works: Forget trying to raise five-, six-, or seven-figure sums to implement all of your streetscape improvements right away. Instead, go spend $15 at a garden center, grab a helper, and transform one weedy corner with some new planter boxes. Once people see what a difference that can make, it won’t be hard to get $100 bucks and enough volunteers to create a sidewalk café for a day, showcasing the potential of the space. And when people see how cool that is, it won’t be long until you have $1,000 and to buy some tables and chairs and create a pop-up pedestrian plaza. And if that works? Then you think about shelling out more money and making it permanent.

>> Learn more

SPEAKER:

Brendan Crain, Communications Manager, Project for Public Spaces

[ register here ]

This call is part of a capacity-building series offered jointly by CommunityMatters and the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design.

The Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design (CIRD) and CommunityMatters are co-hosting a unique conference call series on Making It Happen. This three-part series will help you and your town move a design or planning process from paper to reality. Learn how to prioritize projects and score some quick successes, find the funding and resources for bigger projects, and build the long-term and support for change.

11:00 am to 12:00 pm Eastern

According to Statistics Canada, 8 million Canadians, or 45% of our labour force, are over the age of 45 and close to 20% are over the age of 55. As this population continues to grow, it is critically important to ensure that mature workers find success and that employers can harness the knowledge and experience of this important segment of Canada’s labour force.

Join us in exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with Canada’s aging labour force from both the perspective of employers and workers.

Teleconference Format

11:00 am to 11:20 am | Speakers' Presentations

11:20 am to 12:00 pm | Questions and Discussion

Participation is free but space is strictly limited! Don’t delay in registering for this event.

An electronic package for participants will be sent by email prior to the event.

Guest Speakers:

David Pourreaux

David Pourreaux, CPC, Regional Director at Hunt Personnel in Montreal, has worked with various sectors. His specialties include: talent acquisition, human resources, system administration, recruiting and finance.

Leslie Acs

Leslie Acs, Executive Director of La Passerelle, Montreal’s leading employment and career transition centre, possesses many years of diverse management and human resources experience in private, public and not-for-profit sectors.  Leslie is also a member of CEDEC's Mature Worker’s Committee.

Register now

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Join Speakers:

Marc Maracle (Executive Director, Gignul Non-profit Housing Corporation)
Maynard Sontag (General Manager, Silver Sage Housing Corporation)

In a discussion on Aboriginal housing issues and solutions….

Non-profit Aboriginal housing providers across Canada are both managing older social housing stock and developing new affordable housing in an effort to redress the housing gaps between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal people, and to ensure culturally appropriate housing options remain available. You will hear from two Aboriginal housing providers, one from Regina and the other in Ottawa, who will share the challenges they face as their social housing stock ages, and as to how and with what approaches they have developed new affordable housing properties for the Aboriginal community.

More information and to register.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Join Speakers:

Donelda Laing (Community Social Development Manager, City of Grande Prairie)
Rob Gartner (Chief Operating Officer, Habitat for Humanity Regina)

In a discussion on Affordable Homeownership...

Affordable homeownership is being pushed out of reach for many Canadians in communities where resource development is driving a ‘boom’ economy. While economic growth brings prosperity, job creation and a rise in population to a region, increased demand for housing can cause property values to rise, leading to higher housing costs.

We’ll hear how two boom communities – Regina and Grande Prairie – are responding with initiatives that make homeownership more affordable and attainable.

More information and to register.

11:55am - 1:00pm ET
January 16
via Conference Call

Featuring Dr. Chene Swart

As communities, we are surrounded by - and participate in - layers and layers of stories or narratives that inform what we know about one another; what we can see; how we relate; what we value; who we are; and, who we can become. Using narrative practices drawn from individual therapy, Dr. Swart's work explores the role of community narratives in social change and how, by re-composing and re-authoring the stories of our lives, together we can weave the fibres of hope, truth and possibility to create a shared sense of abundance and responsibility for one another.

[ register here ]

[ more info ]

2pm - 3pm EST

Hosted by Claire Hall, AWL Project* manager, Research Findings presented by Sue Folinsbee and Brigid Hayes, Researchers

To register for the webinar, please click here

Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills: The Current Reality

Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills (WLES) occurs across the country in many shapes and forms. Employers who engage in WLES do so for various reasons. Most often research captures the outcomes of WLES but not on what happens before employees sign on to do training. Recent research captures the changing focus of WLES, particularly from an employer standpoint (specifically small and medium sized enterprises).

Take this opportunity to learn about:

• the current thinking about WLES training
• the changing focus of WLES
• implications/opportunities from the findings

*this is a joint CLLN and ABC Life Literacy Canada Project

Canadian Literacy and Learning Network is the national hub for research, information and knowledge exchange, increasing literacies and essential skills across Canada. CLLN, a non-profit charitable organization, represents literacy coalitions, organizations and individuals in every province and territory in Canada. We share knowledge, engage partners and stakeholders and build awareness to advance literacy and learning across Canada. CLLN is funded by the Government of Canada’s Office of Literacy and Essential Skills.